3:10 Tell the innocent 1 it will go well with them, 2
for they will be rewarded for what they have done. 3
5:21 Those who think they are wise are as good as dead, 4
those who think they possess understanding. 5
15:7 For this reason what they have made and stored up,
they carry over the Stream of the Poplars.
24:14 They 6 lift their voices and shout joyfully;
they praise 7 the majesty of the Lord in the west.
59:7 They are eager to do evil, 8
quick to shed innocent blood. 9
Their thoughts are sinful;
they crush and destroy. 10
1 tn Or “the righteous” (KJV, NASB, NIV, TEV); NLT “those who are godly.”
2 tn Heb “that it is good.”
3 tn Heb “for the fruit of their deeds they will eat.”
4 tn Heb “Woe [to] the wise in their own eyes.” See the note at v. 8.
5 tn Heb “[who] before their faces are understanding.”
sn Verses 18-21 contain three “woe-sayings” that are purely accusatory and have no formal announcement of judgment attached (as in the “woe-sayings” recorded in vv. 8-17). While this lack of symmetry is odd, it has a clear rhetorical purpose. Having established a pattern in vv. 8-17, the prophet deviates from it in vv. 18-21 to grab his audience’s attention. By placing the “woes” in rapid succession and heaping up the accusatory elements, he highlights the people’s guilt and introduces an element of tension and anticipation. One is reasonably certain that judgment will come, and when it does, it will be devastating. This anticipated devastation is described in frightening detail after the sixth and final woe (see vv. 22-30).
6 sn The remnant of the nations (see v. 13) may be the unspecified subject. If so, then those who have survived the judgment begin to praise God.
7 tn Heb “they yell out concerning.”
8 tn Heb “their feet run to evil.”
9 tn Heb “they quickly pour out innocent blood.”
10 tn Heb “their thoughts are thoughts of sin, destruction and crushing [are] in their roadways.”